In his expanded role as the COO for Synovate worldwide, Philpott will now also oversee all of the company's business unit profitability, business systems and processes, as well as quality control.

"His tenure and experience with the company, coupled with his decades of experience in market research, allows him to fully understand the business and help guide our direction going forward," Chedore states in an official release.

Philpott has been with Synovate for almost 10 years having worked with the company in various roles throughout America, Western Europe and Asia Pacific. He has been CEO for the Americas since August 2002.

Prior to his position as Americas CEO, Philpott served as director of Synovate in the Asia Pacific region where he was responsible for managing the company's business across 11 countries. He also established the firm's presence in Malaysia.

"I've seen what we can achieve when our corporate vision is coupled with great teamwork," the statement quoted Philpott as saying, "In my new dual role, I look forward to continuing to help build Synovate's presence and expertise around the world."

Leading brand commitment expert Jan H. Hofmeyr has been appointed global head of Insights for Synovate Brand & Communications, the company's newest practice, effective 1 April 2006.

In his new role, Hofmeyr will be responsible for research and development of new Products and solutions; improvements to current Synovate solutions, sales and training.

Cape Town-based Hofmeyr is the inventor of The Conversion Model, the author of numerous books and articles and a consultant to the African National Congress (ANC).

In 1986 Hofmeyr developed The Conversion Model, which measures the commitment of people to their current choices and their closeness to conversion regardless of the market. It was first commercially applied to banking in South Africa in 1989.

Pommernelle is global HR director

Synovate has also announced appointment of Gavin Pommernelle as global human resources (HR) director.

Pommernelle will be responsible for all elements of Synovate's HR strategy, including talent management, compensation and benefits, learning and development, and employee communications.

Pommernelle joins Synovate from Pentland Group plc, which incorporates brands such as Speedo, Ellesse and Berghaus, where he was head of group HR. Prior to this, he was at Clariant International, based in South Africa.

Synovate, the market research arm of Aegis Group plc, generates consumer insights that drive competitive marketing solutions.

The network provides clients with cohesive global support and a comprehensive suite of research solutions. Synovate employs over 5,000 staff in 108 cities across 50 countries.